Nottingham Playhouse pays tribute to Seamus Heaney

Everyone at Nottingham Playhouse is saddened to hear that Seamus Heaney has died at the age of 74.

Heaney’s distinguished career spanned 50 years. He was celebrated for his many collections of poetry during his lifetime and in 1995 he won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Nottingham Playhouse worked with Seamus Heaney in 2005 on The Burial at Thebes, his adaptation of Antigone by Sophocles. The production then toured to the Barbican as part of BITE – Barbican International Theatre Events – and to both the Spoleto Festival and the Festival of Arts and Ideas in New Haven, USA.

Stephanie Sirr, Chief Executive of Nottingham Playhouse commented:

“We have wonderful memories of working with Seamus. He was very supportive of all who worked on the show and in particular the director of the piece, Lucy Pitman-Wallace. Our thoughts and condolences go out to his friends and family.”

The Burial at Thebes received very positive reviews with the reviewer in The Stage describing it “as fresh, clear and timeless as anything I have seen…what a rarity this adaptation is.”